


Birthdays Are Not For The Faint Of Heart

by ShirlyGallagher



Series: What's Past is Prologue [6]
Category: Archie Comics, Archie Comics & Related Fandoms, Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Birthday Presents, Childhood Friends, Confessions, Confusion, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Growing Up Together, Lack of Communication, Mischief, OTP Feels, Pining, Small Towns, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-12 20:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13555008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShirlyGallagher/pseuds/ShirlyGallagher
Summary: Jughead's Sweet 16.A night full of gifts, discoveries, mind games, milkshakes and mayhem.~~or~~Jughead knew this was a rare opportunity that he shouldn't let pass. His entire being screamed for him to spill everything out to her. To confess his singular adoration to her, to be honest, to finally come clean.His friend was beautiful and kind, and standing toe to toe with him. And if he could muster up enough courage, she could choose him.~~~





	1. I want every other freckle

**Author's Note:**

> This flashback story takes place the year before our Riverdale storyline starts. 
> 
> Remember that in this AU the gang are older than they are on Riverdale. You don't need to read the rest of my series to understand this flashback, but it helps. If you are so inclined the first 4 stories will help you tie this all together.
> 
> Be warned though, those other stories are chalk full of smutt ;)

~~~  
Song inspiration:  
Alt-J - I Want Every Other Freckle  
~~~

 

The wind was crisp as Jughead rode from SunnySide to his tree house, the fallen leaves crunching under bike ties as he rode down the well-worn dirt path. He was racing to his destination, having received a text from both Betty and Archie, nearly simultaneously, to meet them at their unofficial clubhouse. He rounded the corner and took the trailhead to his fortress. He'd been camping out there almost all summer and into the start of the school year. Whenever he wasn't at Archie's house he was there, trying to steer clear of his tempest home life. His parents were giving World War 2 a run for its money, again, and even JellyBean was spending as much time away from that domestic hell as she possibly could. 

Jughead had expected to see both of his childhood friends faces when came up to the overgrown fort. But instead, he was greeted with a beautiful rosy-cheeked blonde, bundled in a thick scarf, mitts and her wool coat. She smiled at him as he approached, slowing her tire swing to a stop.

"Hi." Betty said as she got off the swing to greet him halfway.

"Hey, have you been waiting long?" 

"No, 20 minutes?"

"That's long enough, aren't you cold?" 

"Not really." She lied.

"Archie asked me to meet him here too. Says he found something amazing."

"Interesting, wonder what it is?" 

Jughead shrugged. Archie was extremely cryptic in his text message, he just told Jug to plan to be out late, wear something warm and to get to the tree house as soon as he could. So he did. He rode with Jelly to Cricket's house for her sleepover, before backtracking to his treehouse directly after.

"So, what's up?" He asked nodding with a slight frown towards the large birthday bag, which was stuffed into the wire bucket on the front of her bike.

Betty followed his sight line, "I know..." She confessed with an empathetic smile. She moved to her bike and hoisted the gift out of her basket. "-But Happy sweet 16, Juggie." She said in a rough whisper as she thrust the gift into his hands. 

"Betts, you know how I feel about this kind of thing." He groaned, taking the large gift from her grasp.

"I do. That's why I waited, until today."

Yesterday had been his actual birthday and as long as he could remember his birthday had always made him feel weird and overly uncomfortable. Both Archie and Betty knew this to be true, so neither of them had ever made a big deal of it. But she always got him something or at the very least made him a card, so the fact that she showed up with a gift was no shock, the size of the package and the twinkle in her eyes, however, were surprising.

Betty tightened her ponytail and adjusted her knitted headband over her ears as she watched Jughead try to conceal the smirk tugging at his lips. He pulled the white tissue paper from off the top of the bag and reached inside, grasping the heavy gift, stopping mid-task to catch her smiling at him expectedly. 

"Holy shit, Betty..." Jughead said as he pulled a thick denim sheepskin jacket from inside the decretive birthday bag. "-This is way too much."

"It's not really, I found it at the thrift store." She blurted out, suddenly feeling embarrassed, and now even more so since she had just confessed that his gift was second hand. 

"These are over $100 online."

"I know. But I got it for a steal." Betty confessed lightly, avoiding his gaze by occupying her stare on the sherpa style threads, "-Try it on!"

He had a similar style jacket already, which he had worn to death. He was currently wearing the tattered, once black corduroy fabric and now the garment was so wash worn that it had turned to a slate gray. The cuffs were torn, it was missing 2 buttons and she's pretty sure she'd seen a rip in one armpit. So when Betty came across the 'new' lush dark blue denim she had to get it for him. 

She had been waiting for a while to give Jughead the gift. Really, she could have given it to him yesterday at Pop's during his celebratory 'unbirthday' burgers and milkshakes. Or left it with Archie, or given it to him at school or a plethora of other public locations. But she wanted to give it to him alone, and she didn't want to share his reaction with anyone else. She had spent that whole summer wrestling with building feelings for both of her childhood friends, and their recent development into stronger, broader frames didn't help to quell her confusion, if anything, she was more confused than ever. But by giving Jughead his gift in private, Betty hoped to give herself and her brooding friend a chance to maybe ease some confusion, or at least test the waters to see if she truly had been picking up on lingering stares here and there from him. The boy was so aloof though that she really had no idea, and their alone time was so few an far between that lately she found herself scheming to get him away from their little trio.

He ditched his ratty coat and slipped the 'new to him' jacket over his shoulders, shrugging the heavy dark blue fabric on and pulling the perfect fit closed over his chest. The sleeves were well worn at the cuffs, but other than that the coat looked and felt new like it had been forgotten in someone's grandpa's closet since the 60's. He checked the waist pockets and slipped his fingers into the smaller ones against his chest before running his digits along the small red flag and down the soft front trim. He stopped at the bottom and secured the large metal buttons, travelling up and freezing when Betty's mitten-less hands came into his view. She had stepped forward to help him secure the top 2 buttons before he got the chance, her fingers then danced over the soft sheepskin trim just as his own had done moments ago. The threads hung perfectly off his broadened shoulders, pulling closed over his chest with ease. The dark denim accentuating his clear blue eyes, and the cream sheepskin lay crisp against his warm skin tone. She appraised him for a beat too long, before clearing her throat awkwardly.

"-Perfect fit." She mused, pulling the lapels playfully. "I was worried."

"This is the nicest gift I've ever gotten, Betty," Jughead said softly, after a long pause. He waited for her gaze to catch him, and when she did, his hands covered hers at his collar. 

"Really?" Betty managed to ask through a slight quake in her voice, unable to hold his intense stare.

She shook her head in disbelief. That couldn't be true. She had only bought him a second-hand jacket, surely he had gotten something better from someone, at some point. But then again, she knew what home life was like for him. So maybe that was true. Her heart would have broken at that realization if it weren't beating so rapidly.

Betty flattened her palms under the weight of his hands, resting them flush against his collarbones, the warmth of his skin sending a welcome shiver over her that she tried to contain. She shuttered dramatically, through a mumbled 'burr', trying to blame the cold for his effect on her, before she could look at him again.

"Really," Jughead confessed, his thumbs ran gently over her knuckles. He hoped the slight and intimate act would distract her from the thumping of his own chest.

He knew this was a rare opportunity that he shouldn't let pass. His entire being screamed for him to spill everything out to her. To confess his singular adoration to her, to be honest, to finally come clean. He felt like he had missed so many opportunities already (some by his own doing and others due to outside forces) and didn't know how much more skirting around her he could or should take. She was right there, almost in his arms, he was almost whole. Almost.

"-Thank you." Jughead said softly as he looked over her every small detail. Every other freckle across her nose, her rosy cheeks, the wisps of stray gold escaping from under her ocean blue knit. His friend was beautiful, and kind and right fucking there. And if he could muster up enough courage she could choose him, or tragically, not.

"You're welcome, Jug," Betty said with a side smile and a shrug. "-It looks great on you." She continued quietly.

"Ya think?" He asked with a raised eyebrow, mimicking her side smile and trying to lighten his own tension.

Betty knew she blushed, but hopefully, the cold could be blamed again. He hadn't moved his hands. And though they had been close many times over the years, there was an air of affection to the act that could not be ignored, his effect on her was real. She ducked down shyly and nodded, before her big green eyes come back in line with his clear blues, finding his deep pools filled with a look she'd never seen before. 

"-Listen, Betts...." He paused, taking the longest breath he thinks he's ever taken, stalling as long as he could while his mind and heart caught up with one another. "-I have to be honest..." His mind was trying to string together a confession that he had all but rehearsed, while his heart was yelling 'just kiss her you idiot!'

"What is it, Jug?" She asked innocently. 

He shuffled his weight between both feet, his eyes never leaving her gaze, even when it avoided his. He had the words, they were all right there, all lined up and ready to fall out one by one. But instead, he stuttered, fumbled and then tripped over the syllables before he finally managed to string it all together, albeit very fragmented. He licked his lips, brows pulled tightly together as he moved closer to her, gently pressing his palms firmer against the tops of her hands. 

His breath was staggered but his voice was sure as he began, "I think I'm..." He paused again and thought a moment, before he continued, "Well...actually, I know that I'm..."

"Jughead!!" Archie yelled from a few feet away, still on the trail but clearly coming through the forest in a fast fury.


	2. Waiting on words

~~~  
Song inspiration:  
The Black Keys - Waiting on words  
~~~

 

The noise caught both of their attention, and Betty took a swift glance over her shoulder in the direction of the approaching ginger crashing through yet another rare, and now fleeting moment. In that instant, Jughead instinctively backed away from her warmth and tried to pull his hands away too, but she caught him.

"What were you going to say, Jug?" Betty asked, as her attention quickly snapped back up to his now averted eyes.

"Nothing." He lied.

"Nothing?!" Betty almost yelled. He was lying, obviously, she could see it. 

His eyes fell to his shoes then back the buttons on his jacket. He didn't look at her again, he knew that he couldn't. He'd get lost in her big green doe eyes, and adding Archie to the scene only sullied up the mix.

"I'll tell you later." Jughead soothed, hoping that he wasn't lying again. "-Thank you, for this." He continued sincerely, sneaking his hands out of her grasp to smooth his fingers over the front of his new coat again.

"Jug! You'll never believe what I found in the crawl sp..." Archie's booming voice and bike ties screeched to a halt as he came up to the tree fort.

"-Oh. Uh, Hey, Betty..." The redhead eyed his friends inquisitively for a moment, a puzzled look taking over his excited features, "-What are you doing here?"

Betty frowned. She was pissed. She had been waiting with bated breath before their big mouthed friend had shown up. And now she was left forever wondering what Jughead was about to say. Her optimism suggested one thing, whereas her logic reminded her of another. The only things that could quell both these conflicting ideas were his words. Words that seemed to be on the very tip of his tongue. Words that may now be lost forever. It wasn't often that Jughead said anything more than was necessary, and starting a sentence out with 'I have to be honest..' then being interrupted at 'actually I know I am', made her think that the confession was of the utmost and impending importance.

"I came to give Jug his birthday gift. What are you doing here?" She snapped back at Archie. It wasn't his fault that he had poor timing, but she was mad at him anyway.

"I found fireworks in our crawl space. My parents forgot about them, they bought them for NewYear's Eve years ago." Archie said without missing a beat or paying any attention to Betty's bitchy tone.

"-I wanna set them off," He continued pulling the brown bag marked 'New Year's '02' from his backpack. "-Tonight." He finished with a confident smirk.

"Do fireworks expire?" Betty asked, her eyes wide, noting the year on the bag.

"No, Betty, they don't." Archie said in a mildly patronizing tone.

Jughead created some distance by wandering over to Archie and peaking into the bag. It was packed with roman candles and a few other pop offs in varying sizes. He looked at his childhood friends with a raised brow and mischievous smile.

"Hadley field then?" Jughead suggested.

"It's too far, and it's freezing. I was thinking the empty field next to Riverdale Elementary?" Archie countered.

"It's not just an empty field anymore, they're building a playground," Betty informed them.

"Whatever, it's still a field."

"It won't be dark for a while, let's wait at Pop's, it's closer and warmer, and burgers," Jughead suggested with a smile.

The trio agreed and rode quickly to Pop's, ditching their bikes on the rack outside the front door, before stepping into the warm space. Pop and Theo were in the middle of baking pies for the next few days, so the warmth of the ovens steamed up the inside windows of the diner and filled the air with the smell of caramelized sugar. The crew quickly waved at Pop before moving to their table, a favourite booth with a clear vantage point, which they frequented regularly.

Archie occupied one side while Jughead slipped in next to the window, kitty-corner from his red-headed counterpart. Betty slid into the booth next to Jughead, trying to keep him out of her sightline and maintain some distance, but she still felt that familiar magnetic pull he sometimes had her in.

Her mind continued to race with the possible confessions that Archie had so rudely interrupted. She was annoyed that he had broke yet another spell between her and their mysterious friend. When the 3 of them would hang out Betty often felt like the sun, the center of their adventures and then other times, like now, she simply felt like a moon in their orbit. She spaced out as the boys talked up the plan, hatching out how they would set the fireworks up and then off, for maximum effect. Somewhere in the brainstorming phase, they managed to place their usual orders.

At almost 8 pm Kevin wondered in, with Moose, parting ways with the brawny athlete immediately upon crossing the diner's threshold. Kevin spotted the gang across the shop and with a nod, joined them at their booth.

"Hey, guys, what are we up to this fine Sunday?"

"Hey Kev, up for a bit of mayhem tonight?" Archie asked with a smirk.

"Colour me intrigued," Kevin said confidently as he slid in next to Archie. "-Hi, Betts." He greeted happily, his features going from light and breezy to firm and focused, "-You seem mad?" He questioned, eyeing up the blonde across from him.

"I'm fine." Betty lied, picking at the plate of fries that had just arrived. Forcing a smile, she detoured with: "-So, you and Moose?" The blonde nodded towards the meaty teen who was now sitting at the bar top.

"Not exactly. He's...confused." Kevin confessed with a sad chuckle. "-So, what are we up to tonight?"

Archie filled Kevin in on the story, followed by the plan of attack. Once everyone was on board and on track the boys spent the rest of the evening joking around and eating diner fare while waiting for the late autumn night to fully claim the skyline.

Sometime later Jughead gently put a comforting hand on Betty's knee, effectively stopping her nervous jitter. She hadn't even realized she was bouncing her leg and vibrating the whole table until he stopped her.

"You don't have to come with us, Betts." He soothed quietly, leaning into her more so that only she could hear him.

"It's not that." She said softly, trying not to let the warmth of his breath against her ear and neck shake her resolve because her anger at the whole situation, was still churning inside her. And when he didn't move his hand, she actively fought back the spiteful urge to shove away his touch.

"What is it then?"

Betty slowly turned to him and quietly said, with the most deadpan stare she could muster: "Nothing."

There was a hint of hostility in her voice that made Jughead's blood run cold. He furrowed his brow, the word stinging him slightly. But knew he deserved that, and everything else she could throw at him in this moment. He'd left her hanging, important information left undisclosed and if the roles were reversed, he knew he too would be pissed. He wanted to tell her, desperately really, and with just the 2 of them out there in SweetWater Forest, when he slipped on her generous and thoughtful gift, it felt like the right time. But now, in front of their friends (specifically Archie), in public, where possible humiliation was in ample supply, was most certainly not the right time.

"Betts..." Was all Jughead could mumble in a small defeated tone, watching her normally bright green eyes darken before she averted her gaze completely.

"I'll be back, don't leave without me," Betty said in a hurry as she excused herself from the booth, and made a quick escape to the bathroom.

She was angry. The kind of angry that makes your throat clench and your temples pound. She was angry at Archie for interrupting them and at Jughead for lying. She was even mad at poor Kevin, for reading her mood so effectively, but mostly she was just mad at herself. Pissed for trying to put herself in between her 2 friends like she was, weighing out the pros and cons of each boy, judging them like pieces of meat, or like entrees on a menu.

'What is wrong with you? Pull yourself together, Cooper.'

'How very presumptuous to think that either of them could ever return your attraction.'

'How naive to think that either of them would want to transition into something more.'

Betty felt like she deserved this sick, sinking feeling, for pining after her most trusted childhood friends as she was. But Jughead's disinterest in girls left her completely hesitant to act on any fleeting feelings ever, fully terrified of misreading situations just like this one, scared she could lose him completely if she were too hasty. And Archie flirted with everyone, including her, she had always been Archie's 'stand-in girl, so reading him was easy. But reading anything 'Jughead' was everything but easy.

Betty didn't use the facilities, rather she just stood with her back to the mirror, actively trying to not clench her fists, all while holding back her hot, angry tears, having little success with the former. She pushed herself off the counter and took a quick look in the mirror, careful not to linger on the view too long. She fixed a few flyaways and checked for any escaped tears before she let herself out of the small space.

Kevin and Archie were already waiting outside when she returned to the booth. Jughead was sitting hunched over his crossed arms, his gaze fixed on the table top. He looked lost in thought as she approached, his eyes glazed and unblinking.

"Jughead?" Betty stopped at the booth's entrance.

The hostility cloaked her normally sweet voice again as she stared down at him. He could feel her eyes burning into his skin as she spoke. With his eyes still glued to the table, he spoke: "I'm sorry, Betts."

"Shall we?" She quipped back, bypassing his vague apology. She pulled her gaze away from him, directing her attention towards the front door.

"Sure." Jughead sighed as he stood.

He followed a few steps behind Betty as she moved towards the exit. She stopped at the counter and fished her wallet out of her secret inside coat pocket.

"No need, dear. Jug, covered your bill." Pop said with a smile.

"Oh, alright. Thanks, Pop." Betty replied lightly.

She turned to Jughead and thanked him quietly, knowing that he was trying, but it wasn't enough, not nearly. All she wanted from him were his words. Not apologies, or gestures, or pretenses, or pleasantries. Just waiting on words. Which she was sure that now, she would never receive. She's not proud of what she did next, but her affronted and angry adolescent mind thought back to something her mother had said in passing: 'Make them come to you.' So she laid the silent treatment on thick, in hopes of maybe rocking the boat, or stirring something up? Anything! Hoping that these Alice inspired mind games might work in her favour.

They didn't.

If anything, they pushed Jughead further away, confused everyone and added more fuel to her self-loathing fire. And the rest of the night was just as much of a mess as her emotions were. 

They rode through their dark, quiet town and made it to the field next to Riverdale Elementry with ease. Betty idly listened in on Archie and Kevin's constant chatter and fully tuned in when Jughead put in his 2 cents. But she kept her own mouth shut unless called upon, which in the excitement of blowing stuff up, she wasn't.

Once they arrived Archie set the mass of fireworks up easily in some soft dirt, near the edge of the field. When the ginger was done he turned to Jughead expectingly for a torch.

"Why do you assume that I have a lighter?" He asked smugly.

"You don't?" Archie replied in disbelief.

"Who sets up fireworks and doesn't bother to bring anything to light them with?" Jughead mumbled as he fumbled through his cargo pockets to produce a box of matches.


	3. Yellow flickered light

~~~  
Song inspiration:  
Lorde- Yellow Flicker Beat  
~~~

  


Archie took the box from Jughead and made his way towards the array of fireworks set up in front of them. They all backed up as he set to work, delicately lighting each of the tiny fuses. Kevin linked arms with the silent blonde on the retreat backwards. 

"What is going on with you?" He asked earnestly against her ear.

Betty shrugged and mumbled a quiet and unconvinced 'nothing' just before Archie set off the first set of 3 fireworks. God, she felt sick with her hypocritical self. The quartet's attention shot up with the explosion, as it bust into the night sky with a loud snap and pop of twinkling colour.

Jughead stood a fair distance back from the group and the light show, sneaking in as many undercover glances at Betty as he possibly could. She baffled him, utterly and completely. Her whole demeanour had changed from earlier that day, and the stark shift rattled him. It rendered him nearly speechless, and after her cold shoulder at Pop's, he still wasn't sure that girls were worth all the trouble. But this was Betty. He knew she was just acting out of confusion and that it was his duty to fix it.

Just...not now.

Now all he was able to do was stare at her longingly and hopefully inconspicuously, as pink, green and yellow flickered busts of light sprawled over her flawless frowning features. Now, all he could do was watch her and beat himself up silently for his lack of courage.

Archie rushed in to light the remaining few sets of fireworks, as the sleepy neighbourhood awoke to the commotion outside. Dogs and angry neighbours sang their displeasure at annoyance as more noise and colour cloaked the normally peaceful night sky. As the last couple popped off, 2 roman candles fell over and launched directly into the dry bushes that divided the elementary school and field.

"You kids get out of there!" Followed by: "I've called the police!" Rang out into the darkness and set the group in abort mission motion immediately.

Panic washed over Betty as she watched the fallen leaves under the bushes glow with building embers. She jetted forward but Kevin caught her by the neck of her coat, seeing the boys rush over to stomp out the catching flames. Archie and Jughead stomped out as much as they could, but the sound of the approaching sirens jolted them both away from the task at foot. And through a series of distressed looks, the gang silently agreed and straight up, bailed.

They bailed hard. Likely harder than they ever had as kids. It was panicked, unspoken and swift. Each rode their bikes through the back trails, weaving themselves away from the tumult behind them and through small sleepy side streets before the 3 NorthSiders split with Jughead at the cemetery. Kevin lived in MidTown, and he split from Betty and Archie a few blocks back. The 2 continued to ride home in a silent furry, peddling as hard as they could while the fading sirens dulled into almost silence. The neighbours then parted ways as soon as their homes were within eyesight, communicating through a curt and knowing nod.

Betty coasted her bike into her backyard and ditched it into the cold grass. After a few long, determined strides towards her patio door, she gave up, plopped down on the back steps and poured her face into her hands, bracing her elbows on her knees. With adrenalin still coursing through her, she tried to steady herself and catch her wild breathing, but all she could think about was Jughead. Living on the SouthSide meant that his escape took him through town, over the tracks and then onwards for several blocks. 

She fished her phone out of her pocket just as it chimed in her hand. She smiled at the message as she opened it.

'Are you ok?'

'I just got my phone out to ask you the same thing.' She replied quickly.

'...Well?'

'I'm fine, you?'

'Also fine.' His answer came immediately, the next question in rapid succession. '-Are you home?"

'I am, you?'

'Ya, just got in.'

Betty waited as he typed and stopped then typed again until finally, his message came through.

'-Your gift is so amazing, I really can't thank you enough.'

'You're welcome, Jug. But...' She paused for a moment before sending the next text. She typed and deleted it a few times, unsure if she should be so forward, before finally committing.

'Earlier...what were you about to say...before Archie showed up?'

She waited, for what honestly felt like forever. She was sure she was going to get the silent or sarcastic 'Jughead' treatment, or that 'Nothing' would simply be his reply. If anything. She watched patiently as her message had been seen but no response written.

'-Jug?' She asked tentatively.

Those 3 little typing dots appeared and disappeared a few times before his message was finally sent. And with her heart thumping in her throat, she wiped each of her palms on her jeans, while cursing the unknown for being so god damn nauseating.

'I was trying to say something that's been weighing on me for a while.'

'I'm all ears.' Betty typed back eagerly, nearly overtly so.

'It's not really something you discuss over text. What are you doing tomorrow?'

'Nothing yet.'

'How about I tell you all about it over milkshakes? My treat.'

'Sounds like a plan. Meet at my locker?'

'Will do, Betts. See you tomorrow.'

Betty felt satisfied with that. Getting the opportunity to talk, with just him, was extremely uncommon. Whatever the outcome, alone time with Jughead Jones was a scarce occurrence, rare but invaluable to her. Mind you had she known what was to come, she would have pressed the issue more in that moment.

But hindsight is always 20/20.

~~~

With his mind, heart and breathing still racing, Jughead slid his phone back into the jacket that Betty had given him. He was still wearing it and didn't want to take it off, ever, really. The heavy fabric was comforting and it fit him like a glove. And pleasantly, it smelled a bit like her too, likely from being stashed in her bedroom somewhere. He relaxed back with a deep sigh, just as there was a knock at the front door. He answered it quickly, but as soon as he swung it open, reality struck and his heart sank.


	4. Downward spiral

~~~  
Song inspiration:  
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward spiral  
~~~

 

"Hello, Jughead. Are your parents home?" Sheriff Keller asked, his police cruiser parked in the driveway, red and blue lights still flashing.

"No." Jughead replied plainly.

"Well, there has been an incident. Where were you tonight?"

With worry cloaking his normally stoic voice, he replied: "Why?"

Sheriff Keller produced a box of matches from his pocket, the logo of the Whyte Wyrm imprinted on the front.

"These were found at the scene of a fire," Keller said as he noticeably looked Jughead over, clearly trying to read his features for the truth, but the kid wasn't budging. "-So again. Where were you tonight?" He continued.

"Pop's."

"Can Pop Tate confirm this?" Keller asked sternly, jotting the information into his notepad.

"Yes."

"What time?"

Jughead fell silent again. The sheriff raised an eyebrow and his head, to look the taller teen in the eye.

"-Who else were you with?"

Again, the younger man stood silent, unmoving in the doorway of his families' trailer. It was inevitable that a day like this would come for him. It wasn't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last time a Jones' would have a run-in with the local fuzz.

"-Neighbours say they saw 4 teens fleeing the scene, who were you with tonight?"

"No one." Jughead replied, a bit too quickly.

"You were alone?"

"That's right." He replied, knowing he had really said too much already.

"Jughead, lying will get you nowhere, and honestly could be rewarded with a lesser punishment. The fire was extinguished, but there was significant landscape damage. A few thousand in topical repairs." Sheriff Keller offered, his voice softening, only ever so slightly. "-I'll ask again, where were you tonight?"

But Jughead knew he couldn't tell the whole truth; knowing that it would wash a whole world of hurt over his NorthSide friends, including Keller's son. He couldn't lump them in with the likes of himself, so he figured it was better that he be a martyr to the system or a sacrificial lamb, rather than offering them all up for the slaughter.

"-So that's your story?" The older man asked in disbelief.

Jughead didn't say anything else, knowing it would only be to his further detriment.

~~~

The rest of the story is sort of a blur, and when his mother arrived at the police station she acted as though it was no surprise that he be there. 'Just like your father' she went on to complain loudly, which didn't help his case much. And true to form, his dad was missing in action. Jelly had luckily stayed at Cricket's that night and only heard the second-hand news from their mother the next day.

Because of his family's financial issues, his legal counsel was sub-par, at best, and Jughead's loyalty and therefore lack of a credible alibi did him no flavours either. The eyewitnesses from the surrounding wealthy neighbourhood were thirsty for justice and Mayor McCoy's desire to keep them appeased contributed to the lesser of all evils. Jughead's prior, minor, misdemeanour run-ins with the local police and other compounding factors landed him in a juvenile corrections house for almost 6 months, 'charged' with arson. He was whisked away the following afternoon, another SouthSide problem swept under the rug, quickly and quietly.

~~~

He didn't get the chance to talk to Betty before he left. And once he gained communication privileges, he didn't reach out to her. He was almost sick with himself for wanting to complicate matters in such a drastic way between them. Betty was so much better than that and deserved so much better than that. She deserved better than a drunken Serpent's son, better than some SouthSide trash who was tossed away by their own hometown. Their cheery town with pep, now teetering on the verge of corrupt and undeniable change.

Jughead spent his solitude with his nose in his books, for fear of an idle mind's quick downward spiral into depression. For him, school work had always been insanely easy, and even more so now through correspondence. So he breezed through their current workload and into the next semesters' curriculum.

He talked to Jelly weekly, and unfortunately his mother also. Sometimes his dad was there too, but those conversations were simply a formality with his parents, to assure them he was 'ok'. He emailed back and forth with Archie regularly and kept up to date on most things going on at Riverdale High, including (and specifically) Betty. Archie provided details about awards she had won, about her various causes and committees, and how Betty kept on asking about him, giving Jughead just enough information to keep him slightly pacified while still feeling immensely guilty. He couldn't face her, not even over the internet, so they didn't speak, not even once, the entire time he was away. It was the longest he'd ever been without her and the missing puzzle piece of her friendship was a hole inside himself he wasn't sure that he could fill. 

But he tried. He tried to ignore it, tried to skirt around it, but finally, he filled it. With books, words and knowledge. Little did he know that his distraction plan would be so futile.

~~~

After almost 170 days of being locked in a house with kids that had it way worse than himself, he returned to Riverdale. He walked back into Pop's, ordered his usual, and tried his best to seem like nothing had happened. After a warm greeting from his favourite shop owner, Jughead wondered over to his spot and slid into his comfortable, familiar, well-used vinyl booth. He smoothed his hands over the tabletop with a sigh and relaxed back, feeling weird but strangely, better. Pop's had always felt like home to him. A home where the nostalgia was high, where someone else made you dinner and no one was drunk or fighting.

"Jug?"

Betty's sweet voice slid down his spine like warm honey, and it sent a rush of goosebumps over him. He tried to conceal her effect on his senses, but knew that he took an audible and sharp intake of breath before he looked up to answer her.

'Dammit, she's still beautiful.'

Her familiar voice and demeanour melted his heart and rattled his resolve for a moment as he looked her over. She looked exactly the same as she did before he left, classic, beautiful and effortless Betty. Tight ponytail, pastel sweater, dark jeans, white sneaks, and bright green eyes. However, the way she looked at him, that had changed. Exactly how though, he wasn't sure. Her eyes didn't meet his in pity, or shame, or guilt or anything else, as he had assumed that they would. But there was an unfamiliar glimmer to them that he knew if he lingered on too long, he'd be lost in again, hopelessly pining for someone he could never have, and certainly didn't deserve.

"Hey, Betty." Jughead replied, as casually as he could, but her presence alone stirred up everything single emotion he spent all his time away trying to repress.

She stood awkwardly at the edge of the booth, waiting for her cue to sit. But when Jughead didn't provide her with one her shoulders sank slightly and his guts clenched up with guilt. He never wanted to hurt her, but he did want to protect her and make sure she ended up with everything she could ever hope for. Attaching herself to his sinking ship was not an option if he could help it.

"When did you get back?"

"Yesterday night."

Pop interrupted the awkward silence that followed with Jughead's order. He thanked the man before looking at his exceedingly heaped plate of food longingly, he then turned a forced, listless gaze to her. He was set on keeping her at arm's length now, but he had to actively try to keep his distance, to try and push away his desire to invite her in again. Because it would be better, for her, in the end.

"I guess I'll leave you to it," Betty said politely. "-See you at school?" She asked with a glimmer of hope catching on her words.

"First thing."

~~~

Betty didn't see Jughead the next day, or the one following, she really didn't run into him until Saturday afternoon, at Pop's again. This time he sat at the bar top, candidly talking with Pop and Theo. She hesitated in approaching him, sensing from their previous interaction, and his absence in their shared social circle, that he did not want to talk. But she did. His time away left an empty hole in her too, that she filled with mundane obligations. But her desire to have Jughead back in her life again overpowered the overwhelming desire she had to keep everyone happy.

"Hey, Jug. Mind if I sit?" She asked as she approached.

He sat with an empty plate in front of him, clad in his usual Jughead uniform of dark jeans, flannel, and 's' tshirt, and to her pleasant surprise, the coat she'd gotten him for his birthday. She tried not to let the innocent act get her hopes up too high.

"Oh, uh, sure." He said uneasily, nodding to the empty seat next to him, all while trying to avoid looking at her graceful strides towards him.

"Just a shake, please, Pop. Thanks." Betty informed the shop owner as she sat, to which he nodded and set to work on making her usual.

Betty quietly watched Pop measure out all the ingredients in her milkshake, before blending the sweet treat loudly. He poured the drink into a frosty glass, topped it with whip cream and 2 cherries. The older man placed Betty's milkshake in front of her, and habitually placed the stainless steel tumbler with the extras in front of Jughead. The pair watched the evocative action and Jughead tried not to smile, as she glanced up at his face.

"A peace offering?" Jughead asked sardonically.

"Do I really need one?" Betty quipped back in stride, before taking a long sip of the creamy goodness.

Jughead begrudgingly smirked again, this time at her sharp wit and gave her a quick side glance. Betty took that as intrigue, at least, and used the open opportunity for communication.

"-Can we talk?"

"About?" He asked, instantly hating himself for the douchey tone his voice took on.

"That night?" She countered back with quiet confidence.

Jughead hunched forward, avoiding her question and her gaze. "We don't have to."

"I want to." She said back swiftly.

He hung his head, and took a long deep breath, thinking about all the different things she must have been holding onto, comments she'd likely been stewing over for months, waiting to tell him. For some reason he was waiting for the blame game, waiting for the reprimand, waiting for her to call him out how foolish he'd been. He should have known better.

"-I'm so sorry," Betty confessed honestly.

Jughead was slightly taken aback before he really appreciated who he was sitting next to. Sweet, kind, sunshine of Riverdale: Betty Cooper. He wasn't shocked really, that the first words out of her mouth were an apology.

"I know."

"I tried to tell the truth, but..."

He shook his head 'no' and pushed around some crumbs with his fork. He didn't really know what to say, or where to start, or if he even could.

"-I...I tried Jug."

"I know." He reiterated.

"But Archie and Kevin both made me promise not to say anything. They said that you could have told on us too, but you didn't."

"I didn't."

There was a long pause where each of them was surely waiting for the other to continue, but finally, Betty gave in and blurted out only half of what was bothering her the most.

"Why didn't you write me?" Betty asked quietly. She had dropped her gaze to the bar top, her fingers wiping the condensation off the bottom of her glass, "-You talked to Archie all the time..." She trailed off, hurt clinging to her voice.

Jughead glanced at her now, but her attention was still occupied on the laminate countertop and her glass. He opened his mouth, but there were no words to form an excuse for his absence from her. He couldn't lie to her again, and he couldn't tell her the truth, so he swallowed thickly and allowed his shoulders to slack in defeat.

"-I'm glad you're still wearing the jacket." Betty detoured, realizing in that moment that he wasn't going to divulge anything more to her.

She tilted her head and gave him the most adorable side glance he thinks he's ever seen, her blonde ponytail bouncing along with her head sway. But he reminded himself of the distance he'd created and he knew if he let himself, he would be right back where he was 6 months ago. And though Jughead had made many mistakes, repeating them, was not a habit it wanted to form.

"Still the best gift I've ever gotten, Betty." He replied lightly, turning from her and to the server at the till, "-On my tab please, Theo." He said loudly, gesturing at the empty plate in front of him. The familiar shop hand nodded and jotted the information down on a pad next to the cash register.

Betty kept her eyes trained on Jughead this time, sensing that he was about to make his grand escape. She wanted him to stay. She wanted him to stay and converse with her, she wanted to know what he'd been up to, what books he was reading. Selfishly, she wanted more of his time.

"-I've got to go," Jughead said before gulping down the remainder of the smooth half strawberry/half vanilla blend that Pop always mixed up special, just for Betty. "-I'm sneaking JellyBean into a PG13 matinee."

"Sure thing." She mumbled, her sad green eyes dropping back down to the counter.

"Thanks for the shake." He said earnestly, though his stomach was still churning in guilt. Seeing her hurt, and actively pushing away his urge to soothe her, was a foreign experience that he didn't want to get used to, but knew that he had to.

"Sure." She shrugged back.

And with that, he was gone again. Disappearing just as he had been doing all week long, and Betty wasn't sure what could be done to bring him back.

~~~

She spent the next month trying to reconnect with him, but he fought her at every turn. However, he fought everyone and every turn. Jughead seemed to be mindlessly moving through the mundane motions, wading through a disappointing sea of letterman jackets and blue and gold pompoms. He was being smothered by the town with pep, the mischievous spark in his stormy blue eyes slowly being snuffed out.

Archie had all but given up on rekindling with his quiet friend, because once Jughead returned to RHS, it wasn't as easy as just emailing his reclusive childhood pal once a week. Now Archie's determination was focused on other more pressing issues. Like sports, and girls. Betty, being one of those girls. They'd been flirting more, and though nothing had happened, just a couple of casual dates, it was nice to finally be noticed by the redhead. But surely the rumours had gotten around.

Soon Betty grew tired of being the second choice to nearly every other girl in Riverdale, but her drilled in need to be perfect meant that she should still want to be with 'All-Star' Archie and that the chase of their relationship was normal. But not until later, when she witnessed Ethel with Jughead at the Twilight, did she realize that the chase was not normal and that no one should ever have to try that hard. So she did what she always did when she felt overwhelmed. She tried harder in other places, tried to please others if she couldn't please herself. She piled the obligations, commitments and extracurriculars on thick, a distraction method that worked, for a fleeting lapse of time.

~~~

That June, to please her mother, and honestly, to get away from her, Betty escaped to New York for a summer internship. She shut Riverdale out, nearly completely, submerging herself in her new and exciting learning experience. And then, as Jughead would eloquently say later 'Everything else happened. All at once.' 

After the news of Polly's 'demise,' Alice was quick to keep all other details from her youngest daughter, leaving Betty with an undeniable need to get definitive answers about anything, from anyone. And specifically, from Archie Andrews. Once and for all. 

When she returned home for school that year, and with a tiny(ish) push from Kevin, Betty was ready to get just that. She sat across from her redheaded childhood friend and took a few pre-confessional breaths just as the beautiful, raven-haired heiress that is Veronica Lodge, waltzed into Pop's. Gracing Riverdale with her undeniable charm and charisma, she rendered Archie Andrews into more of a useless, gawking puddle of mush instantly.

~~~

And as they say, 'the rest, is history.'

**Author's Note:**

> ~~~
> 
> Thank you for reading!!
> 
> I hope you guys like this 'bottle episode' flashback story of sorts. 
> 
> I've never done anything like this before. But after all the feels that god damn glorious couch scene gave me, I needed a break from the smutt of it all...if you can believe it!?!
> 
> PLEASE let me know what you think of this!  
> I'm a bit out of my element with this angsty, smuttless story, so your comments are GOLDEN!


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